Kettering University’s Innovation Center Grand Opening is Aug. 31

The Innovation Center at Kettering University is a 9,000-square-foot investment in Michigan’s rich technology future. Kettering will showcase its new Innovation Center during grand opening ceremonies Tuesday, Aug. 31, from 5-7 p.m. The reception is on the corner of Bluff Street and Cottage Grove in Flint.

The Innovation Center is a $3.2 million project that will be the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified building in Genesee County. It is also the first building in Kettering’s envisioned Technology Park. The facility was designed by SHW Group.

Neil Sheridan, director of Kettering University TechWorks, said the timing is ideal for the addition of the Innovation Center to the region’s entrepreneurship strategy. “There is growing momentum for economic recovery in Michigan built on an Innovation Economy,” Sheridan said. “Kettering with its partners in local government, businesses and associations will help drive this new model and our Innovation Center will be a key element in its success.”

Dr. Stan Liberty, president of Kettering University said, “The Innovation Center at Kettering addresses an up-until-now missing piece in the local mosaic of policies, infrastructure, financing, educational programming, and mechanisms of support for forming and nurturing science and technology-based small businesses. This facility will provide such businesses with dedicated wet and/or dry laboratory capabilities while they are nurtured through the first few years of their development, and in close proximity to the region’s most significant science and engineering assets at Kettering.”

SHW Group designed the 9,000-square-foot facility to be divided into public and private functional space, each supporting scientific and technologically-based 'start-up' companies that need dedicated laboratory space during their first three-to-four years of business. Amenities in the public space include a business center, furnished executive and administrative offices, a conference room with high-tech audio/video systems, a café dining and seating area, and a reception area. The private space will be home to state-of-the-art wet and dry research laboratories, each about 800 square feet and designed for easy reconfiguration.

Technology companies interested in the research and nearby manufacturing and logistical strengths should contact Neil Sheridan at 810-762-9728 or techworks@kettering.edu. For more on the Innovation Center, visit: http://www.kettering.edu/visitors/storydetail.jsp?storynum=3024